National Toxicology Program

[Federal Register: June 6, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 110)] [Notices] [Page 28883-28884]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service
National Toxicology Program Fiscal Year 1995 Annual Plan

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) announces the availability of the NTP Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 1995, solicits comments on it, and urges all interested persons to propose chemicals for possible toxicological evaluation.

The seventeenth edition consists of two parts. First, the NTP Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 1995 describes FY 1995 NTP plans in research, applied studies, methods development and validation efforts, as well as resources and FY 1994 program accomplishments. Second, the Review of Current DHHS, DOE, and EPA Research Related to Toxicology lists chemicals being studied by the various DHHS agencies, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and describes toxicology research and toxicology methods currently being developed by these agencies.

BACKGROUND

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) was established within the Public Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in November 1978. The continuing broad goals of the NTP are to coordinate and strengthen DHHS basic and applied toxicology research and methods development and validation, and to provide toxicological information for use by health research and regulatory agencies and others in protecting the public health. Overall objectives are to:

• Broaden the spectrum of toxicological information obtained on selected chemicals;

• Develop and validate more sensitive and more specific test methods;

• Develop improved stategies for generating scientific data that strengthen the scientific foundation for risk assessments; and

• Communicate Program plans and results to government agencies, the medical and scientific communities, and the public.

The NTP coordinates selected toxicology activities of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health; the National Center for Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration; and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Director of the NTP is also the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Primary program oversight is provided by the NTP Executive Committee, which links DHHS health research institutes and centers with Federal health regulatory agencies to ensure that the basic and applied toxicology research and development activities are responsive to regulatory and public health needs. Agencies represented on the Executive Committee are:

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

• Environmental Protection Agency

• Food and Drug Administration

• National Cancer Institute

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

• National Institutes of Health

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration

The NTP Board of Scientific Counselors provides scientific oversight, advising the NTP Director and the NTP Executive Committee on scientific content and evaluating the scientific merit and overall quality of NTP science. The members (listed in the 1995 Annual Plan) are appointed by the Secretary, DHHS.

Scientific activities are divided into several major program areas: carcinogenesis; genetic toxicology; mechanism-based toxicology; alternative methods; and toxicology. The latter area covers activities in immunologic, neurobehavioral, and respiratory toxicologies, as well as reproductive and developmental toxicology. There are special projects on studying toxicities of AIDS therapeutics and toxicity of Superfund chemicals. Program and project leaders, along with addresses and telephone numbers, are identified in the 1995 Annual Plan.

The chemical nomination and selection process is integral to the effective long-term operation of the NTP with respect to toxicological studies of chemicals using modern techniques and to the development and validation of new assay methods. Thus, the NTP welcomes nominations of chemicals for study from everyone. At a minimum, the nominator should give the name of the chemical or substance, the rationale for the nomination, and recommend the type study(s) to be considered. In addition, it is desirable, but not essential, to supplement each nomination with the following information, if known:

I. Chemical and physical properties.

II. Production, use, occurrence, and analysis data.

III. Toxicology information.

IV. Chemical disposition and structure-activity relationships.

V. Planned or ongoing or recently completed toxicological and environmental studies.

To receive the NTP Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 1995, and the FY 1995 Review of Current DHHS, DOE, and EPA Research Related to Toxicology, please write or telephone the NTP Central Data Management, P.O. Box 12233, MD E1-02, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27709, (telephone 919/541-3419) or send e-mail to CDM@niehs.nih.gov.

Comments on the FY 1995 NTP Annual Plan are requested and welcome. These should be addressed to Dr. Larry Hart, National Toxicology Program, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27709, (telephone 919/541-3971).

Dated: May 21, 1996

 

  ________________________________
Kenneth Olden, Ph.D.
Director
National Toxicology Program

[Billing Code 4140-01]